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Speaker 1: But we are continuing our discussions when it comes to

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Speaker 1: the local government election and taking a closer look at

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Speaker 1: the different areas, who's running and what they're standing for.

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Speaker 1: Now today we are going to be focusing on Palmerston

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Speaker 1: and the mayoral race for Palmerston. Six people have put

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Speaker 1: their hand up for the role. Raj Sampson, Rajwin, Rob Waters,

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Speaker 1: Danny Evely, Athena Pasco Bell, the current mayor, Appa Roe

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Speaker 1: Adari and Cindy Mebngari Roberts. Now today we're catching up

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Speaker 1: with three of the the mayoral hopefuls and we're gonna

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Speaker 1: kick things off with the current sitting mayor, Athena pasco Bell.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Now, Athena, We've got six minutes and I've got a

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Speaker 1: series of questions. It's up to you how long you take,

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Speaker 1: but we'll try and get through them all. Are you

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Speaker 1: ready ready? Let's do it all right, Athena, why did

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Speaker 1: you decide to put your hand up to run for

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Speaker 1: mayor game?

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Speaker 2: As you know, I've been the mayor for seven years

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Speaker 2: and I've led a very effective and committed council. We

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Speaker 2: have a lot more that we would like to do

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Speaker 2: in the community and I believe that I'm the best

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Speaker 2: placed person to do that and to continue being mayor

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Speaker 2: for the City of Palmerston. So we have a lot

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Speaker 2: of infrastructure that we're still looking to deliver. There's a

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Speaker 2: lot of community development work that we're undertaking, and we're

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Speaker 2: also now supporting local business and trying to get local

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Speaker 2: businesses to develop as well asina.

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Speaker 1: In terms of qualifications and work experience, what qualifications and

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Speaker 1: work experience do you have which you think make you

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Speaker 1: best placed for the position.

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Speaker 2: I've been a leader no matter where I've worked for

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Speaker 2: over twenty five years, and I've led teams in the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory Government for about fifteen years before i became mayor.

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Speaker 2: I have two degrees, a Bachelor of Environmental Management and

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Speaker 2: I've also recent completed a Bachelor of Laws and being

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Speaker 2: admitted as a lawyer into the Supreme Court of the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory. Obviously, I've got the experience, the skills and

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Speaker 2: the knowledge of being on council for the last ten

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Speaker 2: years actually but seven as mayor, and i also led

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Speaker 2: very effective teams in the Northern Territory Government. When I

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Speaker 2: work there a.

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Speaker 1: Scene of what do you see as the most important

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Speaker 1: issues in Palmerston right now.

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Speaker 2: Probably the most important issues, and they are across between

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Speaker 2: Council and the Northern Territory Government. You know, people are

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Speaker 2: still concerned about crime, which is not essentially a council issue,

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Speaker 2: but we work very collaboratively with the Northern Territory Police

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Speaker 2: and we also have a lot of social issues that

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Speaker 2: need addressing. So the Council works continually with local service

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Speaker 2: providers and also the Northern Territory Government to make sure

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Speaker 2: that we've got support for the people who need it.

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Speaker 2: As far as the Council's concerned, you know, we're making

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Speaker 2: sure that everyone in our community feels included and is

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Speaker 2: supported to live here in Palmerston. And we want Palmestan

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Speaker 2: to be the best place for people to live in

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Speaker 2: the Northern Territory because we want sticky population, so we

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Speaker 2: want people to stay here in Palmerston and to know

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Speaker 2: that it is a fantastic place to raise a family.

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Speaker 2: And so that's what I think we need to be

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Speaker 2: focusing on as well as you know, driving economic growth

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Speaker 2: and supporting our local small businesses. And we're also now

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Speaker 2: just starting to look into tourism as well and what

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Speaker 2: the City of Palmeston can do in terms of tourism

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Speaker 2: and what are.

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Speaker 1: Your top three commitments or I guess policy platforms for voters.

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Speaker 2: Look, firstly, you know, I am committed to running an

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Speaker 2: effective and accountable council for another term. I want to

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Speaker 2: see all of our existing programs continue, so our absolute

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Speaker 2: favorites like the Parmerson Youth Festival, Christmas in Wonderland, Flicknis

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Speaker 2: Live at the Lakes, Wrecky in the Park, as well

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Speaker 2: as delivering our significant community infrastructure program, so delivering the

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Speaker 2: Cold Community Hub. We also have Driver Community Center on

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Speaker 2: the cards. And then also having another look at our

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Speaker 2: strategic objectives in the next council term.

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Speaker 1: Now we have been asking and we're going to continue

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Speaker 1: to ask all of the candidates. Are you a member

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Speaker 1: of a political party or have you ever been?

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Speaker 2: I'm not a member of a political party and I

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Speaker 2: never have been, and I have no intention of joining

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Speaker 2: a party.

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Speaker 1: Fair girl, Now why should people vote for you?

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Speaker 2: Look, I am truly committed to the role of mayor.

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Speaker 2: When I became the mayor seven years ago, i left

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Speaker 2: my government job completely resigned and focused on being the

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Speaker 2: mayor full time. The community have seen the outcome of

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Speaker 2: a dedicated mayor overseeing the governance of the council and

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Speaker 2: also listening to the community. So we have spent a

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Speaker 2: lot of effort consulting continually with our community, including our

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Speaker 2: strategic direction, which is our Community Plan. I don't believe

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Speaker 2: any of the other mayor candidates have made a commitment

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Speaker 2: that they will lead their businesses or their jobs to

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Speaker 2: take on the role full time. So I have a

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Speaker 2: proven track record, I'm experienced, and my intentions are all

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Speaker 2: genuine as you've all seen for the last seven years.

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Speaker 1: Athena, you've got about a minute left. Is there anything

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Speaker 1: else you'd like to add quickly.

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Speaker 2: I've really enjoyed my time being mayor and I've enjoyed

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Speaker 2: seeing the City of Palmerston community evolve into an absolutely

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Speaker 2: desirable and wonderful place to be living. We have a

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Speaker 2: lot more work to do and I'd like to lead

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Speaker 2: the next council to be able to do that well.

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Speaker 1: Athena pasco Bell really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks

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Speaker 1: so much for your time and having a chat with us.

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Speaker 2: Thank you very much.

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Speaker 1: Thank you